Sunday, February 11, 2018

Awesome awesome awesome!! I picked up this book before I even knew Lucy would be offering her hilariously amusing online Facebook class again. I learned so much about the right oils to use in the bedroom for libido and hormones—how to not stuff a dry turkey, and how to keep his soldier standing at attention! ;)

If you need a little more bow chicka wow wow in your life, then get yourself this book and some Young Living essential oils pronto! (contact me if you need an oil hook-up.) The recipes section is detailed and precise, and you'll be a maven mixer in no time—from Inner Thigh Potions to Love Button Lubes, Soldier Serum to Perky Pellets, this book lays it all out for you. You can thank me later! :*

Friday, February 09, 2018

This is a great book for an Essential Oil beginner. While I'm not a newbie to EOs, I wanted to read this before handing it off to one of my new members—as well as being able to reliably recommend it to others down the road, which I certainly will.

Sarah Harnisch presents a no-nonsense hands-on approach to using essential oils by diving right in and doing—while providing guidance and safety information along the way. Challenge action items encourage the reader to step out and try new things while learning interesting tidbits along the way. A fun, light read that for a new user can be used as a guide to help them get the most of all the oils in their starter kit.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

The second book in the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries is just as much a tour de force as the first. Veronica and Stoker are set upon yet another adventure, attempting to clear a man of murder, someone close to the royal family. Veronica is determined to step up to the challenge and prove herself, Stoker faithfully by her side. But will their meddling put them on the wrong side of the law, or piss off someone else who's trying to cover something up?

I've been really enjoying Veronica's tales. As a lepidopterist (butterfly collector), and of late, amateur detective in Victorian England, Veronica has a lot of spunk, particularly for a woman of her time. She's unconventional, witty, and fearless, a perfect counterpart to Stoker—taxidermist by trade, black sheep of his family, and adventurer in his own right. The two are the perfect alchemy, even if they don't know it yet. Sure, they're best buds, but the sexual tension between them has become quite palatable and though I'm not much of a romanticist, I'm hoping they'll just get it on soon! ;)

I love how the author has been slowly peeling back the layers of our two main characters rather than fully reveal them in the first book. In this second book, we learn even more about Veronica and Stoker, particularly Stoker and his background with his family. Coming to know them in this way is akin to getting to know a friend, a bit at a time, and I'd definitely love to have either or both of these two as friends. They just seem so fun!

I'll definitely be on the lookout for future books in this series as they're published.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Friday, March 17, 2017

A Curious Beginning is the first in an exciting new steampunk mystery adventure series from Deanna Raybourn.

The author brings us back to Victorian London, 1887 to be exact. Veronica Speedwell has just buried her aunt, and now the trouble starts and she's running for her life, no idea why anyone would be after her. Placed into the care of the roguishly handsome Stoker, the pair are determined to get to the bottom of who killed the Baron, and why they would be after her as well. The shocking secrets they discover make for an intriguing tale that kept me on my toes to the very end.

The chemistry between Victoria and Stoker was intense. Why don't they just kiss already? Haha! I'm not a big fan of romance when it's the main premise of the story, but the budding background sexual tension between the two of them served to add another emotional layer to the whole story. I'm definitely looking forward to further adventures between these two, and fortunately I have the next in the series, A Perilous Undertaking, waiting on my Kindle up next. :)

The Kindle edition of this book is only $2.99 right now. Click the link or picture above to get it!

Friday, March 03, 2017

Verity Long can see and talk to ghosts. Unfortunately, she also seems to always find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. This time, she's on the scene when the head of The First Bank of Sugarland is killed. No one saw who shot poor Reggie right through the heart, but the calling card left at the scene points to Handsome Henry, an infamous gangster and hit man gunned down and killed back in 1933.

Teaming up with her sort-of boyfriend, deputy sheriff Ellis Wydell, along with her ghostly gangster buddy Frankie, the three search for answers in a haunted mob speakeasy, as well as a spooky cemetery crawling with wailing ghosts. Can Verity use her medium skills to track down the killer before someone else gets popped?

Like the other books in the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries, The Haunted Heist was a fun, quick, and quirky read. There were several twists I didn't see coming, and I didn't figure out whodunit until the very end. I was also happy to see the relationship between Verity and Ellis blooming quite nicely. As usual, Verity makes a few stupid decisions along the way, and seems a bit more of a pushover this time around, but fortunately nothing that affected the story line too severely. (Unless you count getting locked in a bank vault.)

This book may not have had all the laughs of the previous two but I found it entertaining nonetheless. The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries are a witty, action-packed cozy mystery ride that I'd recommend to any fan of the genre. These books can easily be read standalone, though there are a couple ongoing threads going on in the background, like the burgeoning romance between Verity and Ellis, that make reading them in order much more enjoyable as you get to know the characters better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Season Publishing for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wednesday, March 01, 2017

This was a cute little novella, only about 40 pages long, that takes place chronologically between books 2 and 3 of the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries.

Verity Long can see and talk to ghosts thanks to her resident ghost sidekick Frankie. So when her friend Major Matthew Jackson, long dead since the Civil War, comes to Verity for a favor, she's happy to do what she can to oblige. Matthew would like Verity's help to retrieve an old family heirloom from his family estate. And since it just so happens the Jacksons are holding their annual Christmas party this weekend, Verity straps on her catering hat to help out. But can she save the party, the reputation of her friend's catering business, and fulfill Matthew's request while all the Jackson ghosts are doing their darnedest to to dampen the festivities?

Though I've enjoyed the tales of Verity and the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries, I feel as if Verity brings many of her problems onto herself—she can be a bit of a ditz at times too. LOL That said, this series is charming, winsome, and witty, great for when you want a light-hearted, amusing read.

The final book in the House Immortal trilogy brings things to close with a bang. Like the first two books in the trilogy, House Immortal and Infinity Bell, Crucible Zero picks up right where the previous book left off, so I'd recommend to read them all three together if you can. I myself re-read the first two book quickly before starting this one since it'd been almost 2 years since I was last immersed in this crazy, wonderful world.

An innovating change from the numerous vampire and werewolf tales dominating the genre, Matilda and the other galvanized are a sort of Frankenstein creation—immortal, intensely strong, and stitched together from numerous body parts.

Having just returned from the past, where she met up with her great-great-and-then-some grandfather to convince him to change the calculations of an experiment performed long ago that caused a break in time, Matilda now finds herself in a new reality that is not nearly the same as the one she left behind. But just as her reality is altered, so are the people she once knew. Gone is the heroic, ruggedly handsome Abraham, a galvanized she's got a lot of heat with, and in his place is Abraham the mercenary, killer-for-hire.

Unfortunately, there's yet another thorn in her side: a man named Slater who has followed her through time and will do everything in his immense power to see Matilda and her brother Quinten dead. For Matilda knows everything Slater has done throughout time to achieve the unworldly dominance he now wields in the world, and she'll stop at nothing to bring him down.

Now if she can only convince everyone else what's going on, maybe they'll all make it out alive!

The House Immortal Trilogy is a roller coaster of action and suspense. Science fiction and urban fantasy fans who enjoy great writing, riveting action, and unique world building should definitely check this one out.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Wow, what a great read! As the final book in the All Souls trilogy, The Book of Life wrapped things up magnificently, even if I was slightly sad to see it end. I'll miss the characters—so bold and full of life—and the locations that were brought to life so vividly through the author's beautifully detailed writing. Historical books such as these also have a hidden educational aspect for me. I found myself using Wikipedia to learn more about many of the historical figures and places referenced in the story, more so for the second book which took place in the 16th century, but still....

As the ideal alchemical couple, Diana and Matthew are perfect together: light and dark, sun and moon, gold and silver. But still they struggle against the Congregation's archaic covenant which prohibits cross-species relationships, in their case a witch and a vampire. If they can manage to get their hands on the mysterious Ashmole 782 manuscript, otherwise known as The Book of Life, which has been eluding them through time, they're certain they'll have the ammunition they need to fight the Congregation. But there are others who'd love to get their hands on the peculiar manuscript too, and for much less noble and more nefarious reasons.

Overall, The Book of Life was an emotionally engaging read, bringing the All Souls Trilogy to an impactful and sublime end. I'd strongly recommend this trilogy to anyone, even those who normally aren't fans of the fantasy genre, for it's written in such a way that the issues faced by the protagonists can be applied in a non-fantasy setting as well, even if some of the solutions cannot. I'm anxiously looking forward to the upcoming television series—it should be awesome!